1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in an air-conditioning refrigerant receiver used in an air conditioner such as a car air conditioner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such air-conditioning refrigerant receivers are conventionally known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-238906 and the like.
In the above known refrigerant receiver, in order to prevent a refrigerant, which has passed through a contained assembly, from violently dropping onto a surface of the refrigerant stored in a lower space to produce bubbles, an annular clearance is defined between an outer periphery of a lower cover supporting the contained assembly from the below and an inner periphery of a casing, so that the refrigerant, which has passed through the contained assembly, is permitted to quietly flow down along the inner surface of the casing through the annular clearance. In the above refrigerant receiver, however, the lower cover is formed into a mere circular flat plate shape, and the annular clearance is made at a length corresponding to a thickness of the lower cover. For this reason, it is difficult to permit all of the refrigerant, which has passed through the annular clearance, to quietly flow down along the inner surface of the casing, and a portion of the refrigerant may be scattered inwards from the inner surface of the casing to produce bubbles.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning refrigerant receiver, wherein the occurrence of bubbling can be prevented more reliably.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an air-conditioning refrigerant receiver comprising a contained assembly comprised of an upper filter, a desiccant and a lower filter, which are laminated one on another, the contained assembly being sandwiched between upper and lower covers and fixed within a casing, the casing having a refrigerant supply passage and a refrigerant discharge passage provided therein, the refrigerant supply passage leading to an upper space defined within the casing above the upper cover, and the refrigerant discharge passage leading to a lower space defined within the casing below the lower cover, an annular clearance being defined between an outer periphery of the lower cover and an inner periphery of the casing for guiding a refrigerant, which has passed through the contained assembly downwards from the above, into the lower space, wherein the refrigerant receiver further includes a guide tube, which extends downwards to define an annular passage connected to the annular clearance between the guide tube and an inner surface of the casing, the guide tube being connected at an upper end thereof to an outer periphery of the lower cover.
With the above arrangement, the refrigerant, which has passed through the contained assembly, flows through the annular clearance to the lower space within the casing. In this case, the refrigerant, which has passed through the annular clearance, can be guided to a lower portion by the guide tube so as to quietly flow down along the inner surface of the casing, because the guide tube extending downwards and defining the annular passage connected to the annular clearance between the guide tube and the inner surface of the casing is connected at its upper end to the outer periphery of the lower cover defining the annular clearance between the lower cover and the inner periphery of the casing. Thus, it is possible to inhibit to the utmost the refrigerant from leaving the inner surface of the casing and becoming scattered, thereby more reliably preventing the occurrence of bubbling.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.